Chess Festival in Thang Long

09/03/2010

Vua Pagoda, where there is a shrine dedicated to De Thich, is located at No. 17 on Thinh Yen Street near the crowded Hoa Binh Market in Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi . According to a Vietnamese legend, De Thich was considered the King of Chess and held the power over life and death. In the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) the Pagoda, named Hung Khanh at that time, was one of the four resting places of the King in the Imperial City of Thang Long.

Vua Pagoda, where there is a shrine dedicated to De Thich, is located at No. 17 on Thinh Yen Street near the crowded Hoa Binh Market in Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi. According to a Vietnamese legend, De Thich was considered the King of Chess and held the power over life and death. In the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) the Pagoda, named Hung Khanh at that time, was one of the four resting places of the King in the Imperial City of Thang Long.

The statue of De Thich in Vua Pagoda looks like a king wearing an imperial rope and a crown. Besides being a place of worship, the Pagoda also has a chess board and a stele house at the three-entrance gate where the traditional festival of chess competitions is held from the 6^th to the 9^th of January of the lunar calendar. Every year the Pagoda’s Festival attracts a lot of people who also come to watch chess contests and encourage the contestants. As is the local custom, any player who wins the chess tournament three years in a row has his name engraved on the stone stele and is awarded a chess set after it has ceremoniously sat in the De Thich Shrine for a month.

The traditional festival of chess is often held at Vua Pagoda onThinh Yen Street, Hanoi.

The shrine dedicated to De Thich, the King of Chess.

A human chess competition at Vua Pagoda in Hanoi.

Playing chess after working hours at Ngoc Son Temple
on Hoan Kiem Lake ( Hanoi ) is a pleasure of many gentlemen.

Human chess pieces during a competition at Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam in Hanoi.

93-year-old veteran chess player Le Uy Ve (1^st) who has played chess for 80 years.

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Two members of the Vietnamese Chess Association who have been awarded this special honour are 93 year-year-old Le Uy Ve, who has played chess for over 80 years and won the chess championship in 1939, 1940 and 1941, and 80-year-old Nguyen Tan Tho who has played chess for 64 years and won the chess championship in 1953, 1954 and 1955. According to Tho, in the old days chess competitions were held in early spring at Dong Nhan Temple, at the Dong Da Mount Festival, Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (in Hanoi), the Phu Ninh Festival (Gia Lam), Co Loa Temple (Dong Anh) and at the Chem Communal House (Tu Liem).

There are different kinds of chess competitions, such as Co nguoi (human chess match), Co ban, Co boi, Co den, Co treo and Co quat. In Co nguoi, the ground is marked as a chessboard with men standing for red pieces and women standing for black pieces, who are controlled by the players in the rhythm of drumbeats. In Co ban, a table is used as the chessboard and the pieces are made of wood or ivory. Co boi is played on the ground on which boards are planted as the pieces. In a Co den match, the chess pieces are lanterns hung on strings over the chessboard and the players usually recite a verse in the Kieu tale before moving each piece. In Co treo, the large chessboard is hung high so that the viewers can see and comment on the moves. In a Co quat match, each move is controlled according to the movement of the fan which is folded after each move.nbsp;

A set of chess consists of 16 red pieces and 16 black pieces, each of which has a name. The moving of each piece must follow specific rules. When the supreme piece is defeated the game ends. The best players have the ability to anticipate their opponent’s moves.

Over the years, the chess festival has been held solemnly as an international competition at Vua Pagoda, attracting many outstanding Vietnamese chess players from all parts of the country. From these competitions, chess player Nguyen Vu Quan became a Vietnamese chess champion for three consecutive years, 2007, 2008 and 2009, glorifying Vietnamese chess throughout the world.

Story: Vinh Hung

Photos: Hoang Giap – File

Vinh Hung - Hoang Giap File

Hang Quat Street

25/11/2010

Hang Quat (Fan-Making) Street runs 200 metres, from Luong Van Can Street to Hang Non Street. It was built on the ground of the former To Tich and Thuan My Hamlets in Tien Tuc (later changed to Thuan My) Canton of Tho Xuong Precinct. During the time of French occupation, it was called Rue des Eventails, which was changed into Hang Quat Street in 1945 (after the victory of the August Revolution).